Joe Simon (musician)
| Joe Simon | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joe Simon |
| Born |
September 2, 1943 Simmesport, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | Soul, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, record producer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1959 – late 1990s |
| Labels | Hush Records, Vee-Jay Records, Sound Stage 7, Spring Records |
Joe Simon (born September 2, 1943) is an American chart-topping, Grammy Award winning, soul and R&B musician. A consistent presence on the US charts between 1964 and 1981, Simon charted eight times in the US top forty, and thirty-eight times in the top 40 of the US R&B charts. His biggest hits included three number one entries on the US Billboard R&B chart: "The Chokin' Kind" (1969), "Power Of Love" (1972), and "Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)" (1975).
Simon was born in Simmesport, Louisiana. Similar to many other African-American artists from the era, Simon began singing in his father's Baptist church. He pursued his vocal abilities full-time once the family moved to Richmond (near Oakland, California) in the late 1950s. There Simon joined the Golden West Gospel Singers and became influenced by Sam Cooke and Arthur Prysock. With this, the group decided to turn secular and recorded "Little Island Girl" as the Golden Tones in 1959.
Hush Records label owners Gary and Carla Thompson urged Simon to record on his own, and in 1964 Simon scored considerable success on the Vee-Jay label with "My Adorable One". Simon scored again in 1965 on the Chicago-based label with "Let's Do It Over", which landed a #13 spot on the US Billboard R&B chart. However, the Vee-Jay label folded soon after the latter song's release and Simon found himself traveling across the country singing.
...
Wikipedia